Well, the way I see it, Nintendo priced their console right for what it came with. The problem is, they spent too much on controllers with screens. It was a bad idea. And the lack of graphics quality didn't help. Better graphics could have helped, but it wouldn't solve the issues.
The main problem was lack of fun games. Lack of functionality. Lack of DVD or BluRay playback. It lacked so many things it just really didn't make anyone excited. Lack of apps like Netflix or Hulu or YouTube. That's a deal breaker right there. Nintendo needs to #MinistryOfSTOPIT and start letting people do what they want with the console they bought, game how they want to game with the console they want, etc.
It isn't the hardware that's at fault. The software just isn't any good, the lack of features is appalling, and the lack of games makes one really question the sanity of a console peasant (even by console peasant standards - by the way, I'm kidding) who's interested in buying a WiiU. Nintendo just needs to make themselves competitive to sell more and make more money. Instead, they're competing with themselves in a world where many other (and better) alternatives exist at similar prices. They did outdo the Nintendo Wii, Dreamcast, GameCube and other of their previous consoles in terms of hardware and software. But that isn't saying much. They need to compete with Sony and Microsoft if they actually want a bigger piece of the console market. That said, Nintendo needs to understand that their hardware, software and game selection needs to be competitive with their competitors for a competitive price. Nintendo isn't trying to do that. Nintendo is making their consoles because they think it's what their customers want, and sales figures show it isn't. Which just goes to show that Nintendo is still competing with Sega to see who can nosedive the fastest. Sega may be winning, but soon Nintendo will be winning - at the uncompetitive sport of failure. Nintendo could stop digging when they've hit rock bottom, but they want to keep digging to innovate in all the wrong areas, trying to be innovative in ways that just make customers look down in disappointment.
They've got loads of nostalgic fans. Why can't they use that to sell something to them? They have a HUGE opportunity and loads of very valuable franchises, which are begging to be treated right and which nostalgics are pretty much dreaming about for a long time. Talk to any nostalgic 80s or 90s kid about a Pokemon MMO for console or PC, or Zelda MMO, or SSB for PC with online multplayer for PC or console. This is what their audience wants. And yet the only ones who don't see it are the Nintendo directors. Which to me is where my hope for Nintendo ends. That's why I'm hoping they enter financial dire straights and end exclusivity of their most beloved franchises, so those franchises can be set free and find new, better homes, like how Final Fantasy found a better home on PlayStation than on SNES (yes, Final Fantasy originally was made for SNES only), and improved a lot on the original PS and on the PS2. (I hope FF for PS4 can save the embarassing/atrocious taste in the mouths of gamers that the PS3 did with the FF franchise. Although that'll depend on Square Enix management, which is a whole other topic.)
"Well, the way I see it, Nintendo priced their console right for what it came with. The problem is, they spent too much on controllers with screens. It was a bad idea. And the lack of graphics quality didn't help. Better graphics could have helped, but it wouldn't solve the issues."
I agree the gamepad was a pretty stupid idea. That kind of is one of the problems. The gamepad adds a good bit of cost and literal value to the system but it adds so little tangible benefit to the gameplay experience that people don't see it as making the system worth more.
As far as Nintendo games I am not too worried. Nintendo from my perspective is making some of the best games they have in a long time. It is just that at the moment only one of them has hit the WiiU which should have been the case at launch. They need to pick up the pace fast and I don't see why they don't since they have the cash.
Well, the problem isn't cash. It's will. Nintendo directors are making the games *they* want to make, not the games their customers or hardcore fans want. That's the issue.
The gamepad looks cool, but our eyes aren't like chameleons which can move independently. We can only look at once screen at a time, much like how we can only hear with two ears, so having 10 speakers (looking at you. Razer Tiamat) doesn't help improve audio quality on a headset. (It can in a theater or in a living room, though.)
That's the issue. Nintendo doesn't have enough reason to convince customers that they're getting more than what they paid for their console. It isn't a deal. They can't use it for much, they can't do much with it, and there are very few good games for WiiU. Overall, that's a pretty tough deal to get anyone to swallow, even hardcore fans. The 80s and 90s kids may have grown up with gameboys and so forth, but now they sit in front of TVs, monitors and other devices all day long. Nintendo could find a way to give them the games they want in the format they want; on a big screen or monitor, rather than on a handheld. Or sell them the games they used to play as children, but on PC, mobile or some other platform.
Nintendo has the money, it's management that isn't doing it's part. That's the problem. Good franchises are being strangled to death by Nintendo. Rather than creating a host of epic games for their console BEFORE they launch it, they launched the console first and made the games later. That's like launching a GPU without any drivers to support it. What's the point of a console with no app support if you don't launch it with games? How can a *gaming* console with no games be competitive, especially if it does next to nothing other than what Nintendo lets you do with it? It's beyond stupid; it's virtually satire of what bad management can do to a great company lots of money, great franchises, great games and great employees. Nintendo deserves better than their management can dish out, and quite frankly, I think the gaming industry, the Nintendo die-heard fans and their customers deserve better too. It's sad Nintendo just isn't stepping up when it would be sooo easy for them to do so. They have to suck up their pride, admit their strategy was a huge mistake, and take the blame like adults for jeopardizing the company's future for the sake of their own jobs and pride. It isn't too late, but if they want to go down with the ship, well icebergs be d*mned, full steam ahead.
It should be interesting to see what happens this next year or so. Im a bit less doom and gloom then you but I agree with most of your points.
I am personally hoping Shigeru Miyamotos new franchise will be a good one and that that will encourage Nintendo to add some more fresh blood to their lineup.
I have hope for Nintendo. But given their recent history, there's very little other than hope to back that up. Still, let's wait and see. I think a year might be enough to predict better what they'll do, and if they'll flop or soar because of said strategy. But right now, the Nintendo management knows it's in trouble from the numbers they get. I'm hoping they'll stop trying to use the same tactic (which so far hasn't been working), and instead try a different tactic (since it might work). The definition of insanity after all, is trying to do the same thing over and over and expecting different results. I hope they figure this out soon. But we'll see. =)
correct me if I am wrong but the 3ds seems to be kicking some super ass in the handheld market i think thats the one thing nintendo has gotten right maybe they will just turn into a handheld only company which could be a serious possibility.
I think and this is just my personal opinion I think that a lot of this younger generation the ds handhelds are what they play. I can understand how parent's don't want their children in front of a tv all day but are perfectly fine with a kid sitting in a corner playing a DS time's have changed the market has changed as well. I think so far the Wii u has been a bit of a flop unless they come out with some solid content fast. I think Nintendo fan's have been disappointed with the wii u so far just because there has not been a real solid 1st party nintendo game to come out which is insane but I think Nintendo can come back from this and I hope they do. Nintendo is a staple in the gaming industry and if anybody disagree's with that they would have no solid argument because at one point Nintendo saved the gaming industry from Atari and there awfulness.
What have they done to Zelda !!! remixing a game I guess to try to suite to the younger generation of gamer's lol but why would they do this it is just awful
Steady decline. They can only milk the same gimmicks for a certain amount of time before it stops being effective. I don't know much about the devs at Nintendo. Is this an Infinity Ward type situation where they have to keep doing the same shit over and over because all the talent has left? The biggest problem I think is that they completely lost the balance that made their games so awesome. No depth, no challenge, no innovation. And instead of using new control schemes as a tool, they're completely overdone and used in inappropriate roles. Also, what the hell is this? Painful.
Edit: I also think the Wii U pro controller needs to be part of their branding and focus from this point on. Tablet thingy isn't working. It should have been a secondary controller.
The 3ds is currently the highest selling handheld/console on the market atm, hell Linus mentioned in his last WAN show that the Wii U outsold the Xbox One recently. The funny thing is that it seems Nintendo understands the market for the 3ds and completely lost it when it came to the Wii U but they might be already rectifying it considering their better recent results. Their staple games finally coming out will definitely help too.
Surprisingly, I've seen a large amount of people who own the 3ds for Pokemon and the new Legend of Zelda who are older than 18 years of age (myself included).
Play a Link between Worlds and your mind will change back quickly. Skyward Sword may have been disappointing but ALBW was amazing and was my personal game of the year